NORDCORP. Retracing the Reformation. The dissemination of the Bible in Medieval Scandinavian Culture

From the publication in 1526 of the New Testament in Swedish to the appearance of the Icelandic Bible in 1584, all the Scandinavian countries with the exception of Norway had the Bible translated into the vernacular. Common for these printed and complete translations are that they are considered to mark the completion of the Reformation in the north. Traditionally we see the event of these works as the replacement of the Medieval Latin culture with a vernacular culture. There are good reasons to question such an absolute border between medieval culture and the Early Modern period. Not only is it obvious that our definition of periods has a tendency to set absolute time-limits where no such limits were apparent to the contemporary viewer, but it also pres ents an obstacle to the perception of longer tendencies that would shed new light on the course of political, intellectual and social changes. Our contention is that the expansion of a vernacular literacy in the Middle Ages should be studied as a prerequi site for the Reformation Bibles. In order to recover the processes leading to a wider authority for the vernacular, we need to consider the implications of the medieval translations of Bible works. The project is part of a more long-reaching project, wer e the Reformation Bibles are seen in the light of medieval use of biblical material. We will focus on sources where the Bible texts are used and paraphrased in secular works, individual Bible works, and material evidence, e.g. church paintings and illumin ations in manuscripts. This material has received little attention and we introduce a number of new perspectives. The project will lead to a reinforcement of the research on Scandinavian medieval culture and the early stages of Scandinavian religious lan guage. The results are expected to be relevant for further work on other periods of Scandinavian history, but indeed, they will also have importance for understanding the contemporary reception of the Bible.